For as long as I can remember the following has been my favorite bedtime story.
“Once upon a time there was a man and his name was…Daddy Ouellette. And he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world and her name was…Mommy Ouellette. But there was one sad thing about Mommy and Daddy Ouellette. They didn’t have… any children. Usually babies grow inside a mommy’s tummy, but as much as they would have wanted a little baby. No babies grew in Mommy Ouellette’s tummy. One day…Brother Hyles called. He said that a little girl was going to be born who needed a home to be lived in, just like Mommy and Daddy Ouellette’s. When she was born they went right down to see her. And when they looked at her they saw… the most beautiful baby girl in the world. And her name was… Karissa Ouellette. As soon as they saw her, they knew that she was exactly the little girl that God wanted to have live in their home forever. Sodo you know what they did? They…adopted her. Do you know what that means? Adopted means… special. And that’s what you are. You are special.”
If someone was to ask, “What does adoption mean to you?” I’m not sure I could give a simple answer. As a child I knew that it meant special. Now I know it means a brave biological mom who, even though she was 16, knew that she could not take care of a little one on her own. It means that same young girl did not give in to the demands of her boyfriend and have an abortion. It means giving me a better life. It means that I was able to be raised in a pastor’s home. It means I was able to know my need for Jesus at a young age. It means I cried when I found out my sister was not going to be adopted because I thought she would not be special.
I was able to meet my biological mom after my freshman year of college. She told us that she prayed and asked for me to be placed in a pastor’s home. I’ve often thought how different my life would be, the places I wouldn’t have gone, the people I wouldn’t have met (including my husband) if she hadn’t made that selfless choice to give me to total strangers. My life would not look anything like it does today.
My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end.” God knew even before I was conceived that He had a plan for my life. He placed me with parents who were created just for me. Even when many people would see the obstacles, God sees the plan!
When my husband and I were dating, we would often say we wanted 2 or 3 kids and then maybe we would foster. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful baby girl in April of 2009. In November of 2011 God gave us a chunky little man. We thought we were done😊. A little over 3 years ago the Lord laid it on mine and my husband’s heart at separate occasions that there was a teenager in our church that we thought we could help. She came to live with us in August of 2015 and in December of 2017 she became an official “Coats”. God allowed it to come full circle and let us share our family with someone else!
I am so glad God chose this plan for me. I’m glad that I not only have been adopted into an earthly family, I have been adopted into God’s family as well.
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